Sampler mechanism.



E. RAMSAY. SA MPLER' MECHANlSM. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2, I916.

Patented Dec. 11; 1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET l.

r avwmdcoz' Fmkine 9022250 wi/tmam E. RAMSAY. SAMPLER MECHANISM.APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2 I916.

Patented Dee. 11, 191?.

CE LING LINE.

40 Fgsoq uNE- SLATE TMKED LUMP,

/ LUMP COAL Fri/6122? fan 25m E RAMSAY.

SAMPLER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION HLED- OCT. 2, 1916.

Patented D0.11,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

nu aim; Era/H222 Eazwzz% ami/imam v mass erm ne Parana orrrcn nns ininna usavj or BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

t SAMELERMEGHANISM;

1,2%99&91. s cification of Letters Patent. i Patentgfl 1y, r

App1icationfi1ed0ctober2,1916. Serial No. 123,445.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownnthat I, ,ERSKINE ,RAMsAY, a citizen of. the United States ofAmerica, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State ofAlabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SamplerMechanism, of which the following is aspecification. 1

My invention relates to mechanism which is adapted for both sampling andchecking cars of coal or other mineral in orderlthat an accuraterecordmaybe obtained ofathe character and quality of the mineral-loaded by thedifferent miners or loaded into dilferent freight. cars. l i a i InLetters Patent No. 1,191,227, issued to meon the 18th day of July, 1916,I have shown and described a mechanism for same pling and checkingminerscoal by means of a reciprocable and rotatable sampling pocket which ismovable crosswise of the chute in order to take a "sample at any de-Jsired point transversely of thestream of mineral and which may be timedto take thesample at any time during the dumping of'the mine car. Bythis means it was possible to obtain a small but truly average sample ofeach car and such sample when withdrawn from the chute was delivered toa bin which may comprise, if desired, a plurality of sample holdingpockets and beneath is arranged a screening mechanism which separatedthe slack from the lump and enabled the lump portion of the sample to bemore quickly and thoroughly picked for slate or rock as it passed overthe screen during the screening operation. The subdivided slack, lumpand slate of each sample were delivered to separate receptacles andtheir contents respectively weighed and entered upon a tally sheet, eachsample being designated by the number ofthe miners check oni the carfromwhichtakem The record showing the proportion of lump and slack, madepossible by the use of the screen and the same being recorded upon, atally sheet, gives a record on each miner and shows whether he isunnecessarily breaking the coal and therefore producing'an excessiveamount of slack with its'usual high propor tion of foreign matter, (Thispoint is very important atmines generally andespecially at thoseendeavoring toproduce the highest posisible proportion of lump anddomestic coa a a Mypresent invention has for its purpose to improve the,structure of thepatented apparatus with a view to simplifying it,tobroadening its adaptability to tipples \Of varying construction, and toadapting it to take in rapid succession truly average samples of a wholetrip of cars if desired, no matter how, quickly dumped, and to pre servethesamples separately for their sub sequent treatment over a singlescreenat the leisure of the operator.

My improved sample taking mechanism comprises the arrangement of atransverse series of sample pockets each below a hole in the tipplechute bottom and each having an individual movable cover so that thesample may be taken in any desired pocket. The several sample pocketsare adapted to deliver their samples under control of their respectivedischarge valves througha com: mon feed chute to a common'shakingscreen. The relative location of the pocket trans,- versely of the chutedetermines from what part, laterally of the stream of mineral flowingfrom the car,the sample will be taken, and the movable covers providemeans for taking the sample from the early or any later part of thestream. The samplepocket covers are manually and independently controllable through levers which are in convenient reach of the operatorin charge of the screenin'gand picking operation, thus permitting oneman to take entire charge of the sampling operation and enabling him tovary'at will both the place and time of taking the sample so as toprevent the mine cars being with undue amounts of slate in apart ofthecar which otherwise would not be sampled and the miner thus avoiddetection. e i i The further feature of my present invention relates tothe manufacture of the whole sampling apparatus as a single structurewhich can be fabricated and delivered complete to the mine where theonly change requiredis the cutting of the necessaryopen:

' tracted thereunder to car and protect a pocket cover when reeXpose apocket for takinga sample.

Afurther improvement relates to the provision of a signal toautomatically notify the man on the tipple' wlien a sample is beingtaken'so that he can notify the sampler of the mmers check number, or,as is preferable send down through a chuteor on a rod theriiinerfs"'check or aspecialcheck of term:

spending number for the. car; beingsampled,

" which check may be hooked or attached,

first, to the lever for opening'the' discharge valve o'f'the' pocket inwhichthe sample was taken, and, later, to the boxes containing thescreened and pickedsample to properly identify{ the latter until-enteredupon the tally sheet: Th e check when attached to the lever thus also"constitutes an indicator to the sample-man of which pockets are full.Sgcreen barsofregular or irregular distances apart may be arranged overeach or any number either sample pockets so that they will excludetherefrom all lumps above predetermined si'zes,-this being oftendesirable Where the mineral, and-particularlythe coal as: mined aridloaded, often comprises very largelumps, Such lumpswould not'be a fairportion ofan average sample and might alsoeasilyenter and choke thepocket and interfere with theclosing of its cover unless 'suchlumps arecaused to pass over the pocket by the'screen bars. "l vherethe run ofmine mineral is small t-hesebars'may be partially or entirely dispensedwith, or-they may be regularly or irregularly spaced'any desireddistance apart in-anypocket or pockets, but where used theyare ofsuchcharacter and so constructed as toenable the cover to easily forceoff any lumpsfthat might-hang on the screen, without becoming blockedthereby.

1 These and other advantages will be better understood by referencetothe more detailed description hereinafter and to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part ofthis specification, and in which what Iregard as the preferredembodiment only of my invention is-illustrated,.it being'understood that the details of construction maybewidely variedwithoutldeparting from the real sub stance of my invention.

7 According to the drawings r *Figure l is aside elevation of a minetipple structure equipped with my sampling apparatus. 7 r Fig. 2'is aside elevat'ion of the sampling apparatus 1 enlarged with the tipplechute partl in section'and the'sampler pockets broken away; V L 1 Fig, 3is an elevation looking away from Y Fig; 4 ;is -'a section' fon the line3 3 of Fig. his a front elevation-looking toward the tippl-e partlybroken away to illustrate one of the adjustable pocket bottoms.

Fig. 6. is a detail view of the chute for delivering the miners checksfrom the tipple evel to the sampling platform.

parts throughout the drawings.

MID the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, a minecar 1 is shown in "dumping position on a tipple' 2 .-.-wi.th-.:themineral falling therefrom upon a guard plate 3 raised above the bottom tof the coal chute The guard plate 3 is con nected at its sides to anglebars 6 which are fastened to the side walls of the chute. The bottom 4:of the chute, beginning at a point below-the lower end of the guardplate 3, is cut away to form a rectangular transverse elongatedopeningthrough which the mineral is intended to fall intothe samplingapparatus disposed thereunder. The transverse upper and lower edges ofthe opening in the chute being of substantial length arereinforcedbeneath by transverse angle bars 7 which extend from side toside of the chute and these angle bars are riveted to upper ends of thefront plate 8 and the back plate 9 forming respectively.what I term thefront and back walls of the sampling apparatus.v At their outer endsthese angle bars 7 are connected to vertically disposed angle bars 10riveted tothe sides of the chute. End plates or walls 15 are connectedto the walls 8 and 9 to'form the outer casing of the sampling apparatusand four intermediate vertically disposed partitions 11 ex tendlengthwise of the chute and divide the sampling easing into fivesampling pookets, equal in size and each pocket having an individualbottom discharge door 1:2 which is hinged to the back wall 9 and held inclosed position against the front wall 0 by a counterweight 13 on thelever 14 for manually operating the discharge door. The side walls 15extend downwardly in parallelism to a point below the level ofthe discharge doors 12, where they are bent inwardly to form a hopperlikefeeder chute it adapted to receive a sample from any one of the severalsample pockets and deliver it to a shaking screen 17. The back wall 9 isinclined upwardly away from the wall 8 so that the sample pocketsincrease in size toward their upper ends. A square door 13 is hinged inthe back wall 9 with its bottom corner edges projecting beyond thetapering attached to the door 18, serves to yieldingly holdtlie dooragainst the mineral so as to distribute itgradually over the shakingscreen; Thebottom of the screen below the Similar reference numeralsrefer to similar the bottom end ofthe chute -16=tojform gusset plates 22and to each-:of these plates is attacheda depending angle bar23 whichbars supp'ort'th-e front end oftheframe 24 for the sample bins under thescreen,the rear or other end of this frame-work being supported. by twoangle bars 25 connectedby means of gusset plates 26 totheupper end oftherplate 9..

' :l'provideasliding pocket cover- 27 for each sample pocket, thesecovers being preferably. made of sections of channel bars, in-

verted and adapted'to slidein angle guides 28 attached to; the upperedge of. eachside wall of the several pockets. As illustrated inFig. 4,a convenient manner of attaching these angles is bylbending over the:upper edgeof the partitions ll and side walls 15 to an angle-of 45. andriveting: or otherwise fastening: the angle. guidethereto. 'By thisarrangementthe several covers are held in contiguous relationship soiastoform a sectional closure for the transverse openingin the: chutebottom 4. The upper end of each pocket cover carries'a yoke 28 to whichis pivoted a link 29;:which inturn is pivotally connected to-the upperend of alever 30 for operating thepocket cover. Each coveris controlledby awseparate leverand the several levers are mounted to rock on a.common shaft: 31 mounted in bearings" '32 which are eachsupported by:angle bars 33 and 34. Each angle bar '34 is connected to a gusset plate26 andueachangle bar 33 is connected by a gusset plate 35toan angle bar25 and by a gusset'plate 36 to the. back wall 9 of the samplingapparatus. Each lever has riveted thereto agussetplate 37' and a halfpipe flange 38 is'boltedto this gusset plate, ahole being bored throughthe plate in line with the opening in the flange which-is boredsmooth,thus affording a rocking bearing for thelever. Therseveralleversare spaced by pipe sleeves 39 interposed between their rockingbearings. The:l1andle endsof the leiversare disposed-in convenientposition to beoperated from the'platform 40 which is suitably supportedfrom the tipple framework. MThe' frame 24 fonthe sample bins may beadditionallybraced by the tie bars 41 and 42 which connect to convenientpoints in the tipple' frame-work and arerespectively made fast tothegusset plates-'43 and 44; This frame 24 is formedyof longitudinal andtransverse angles suitably bolted to form a rectangularframe fromlwhichde] pends a hopper divided -transversely by inclined partitions *to formthree distinct sample bins 45, 4 6 The 45 receives slack .coal orscreened mineral and isdis posed. beneath the screen 17; the bin46isdisposed to receive the lump coalor mineral that fallsofi? the end ofthe screen; and the end bin 47 is intended to receive the lump slate .orrock picked from the mineral 011 the screen or in the hopper 46. Theslack bin 45 has a balanced butterfly valve 48 in its bottomfonriing itsdischarge doorand provided with an angle'stop lug 49 to prevent itswinging quite to a vertical position. This valveswlngs on a bearing 50whlch is offset fromthe-center to make it self closing by :gravity. Ananglebar51, attached to the free end of the. valve, extends on eachsidebeyond the hopper and in position to be depressed by the foot orhand to open the valve. The .bin 46 has a. bottom door 52 which swingson a hinge 53 and is, held nor mally closed by a counterweight. 54. Thisdoor also carries at its free end an angle bar 55 which projectssufficiently to enable itto be engaged by thefoot or hand to open thedoor. The bin 47 has a vertically hingedend doori 56 held normallyclosed by a counterweight 57 on a hand lever 58 which pro-f jectsinconvenient position .to be grasped and raised todump the bin. Belowthebins 45,46 and 47, respectively, are arranged con tainers, 59, 60 and61, respectively,-for the 1..

treated sample, which are suitably marked to indicate their respectivecontents.

The screen 17 is mounted on flanged wheels 62 journaled onthe frame 24and angle bars 23 and disposed to incline the screen. Aconnectingrod 63,formed bya bent metal strap, is connected to the lower end of the screenand extends forward above the frame 24to a crank shaft 64 journaled inbearings 65 attached to the angle bars 23. i

This shaft extends suiiiciently on each side of the apparatus to attachto a shaft or to receivea driving pulley 66 on whichever side provesmost convenient for connectingits driving belt to the line shaftor motoron the tipple. i i i It being desirable to reduce the results of thesampling operation to percentages for,

convenience in tabulating the results, Lprefor to take samples of apredetermmed weight, as, for instance, insampling coal, 1 would designthe pockets for an average capacity of samples about one hundred pounds,but it would seldom be exactly one hundred pounds. -Therefore the actualtotalweight I would be increased or reducedvto a hundred pounds basisand the pounds of slack coal and slate'being also changed in proportionwould then also-be. the pencent in which case comparisons would easilybe made and averages struck. To make the pocketcapacity variable fordifferent mineral, I provide the discharge door 12 with an end platen?,and a series of holes are punched inboth are, dumped, are strung on therod 80 and the door and-plate, preferably on different centers, so thatthe pla'te can be adjusted the pockets or to exclude from the samplemineral above a predetermined size. To these" ends 1 may provide overeach pocket, if desired, a series of screen bars 69. The ends of thesebars are bent down and fitted between the front and back plates 8 and-9and attached thereto by bolts passing also throughthe angle bars 7 so asto easily adjust the numberor distances apart to suit the conditionsdesired for any pocket or of any mine. Additional holes are provided inthebars 7. These bars project sufficiently above the chute bottom 4 topermit lumps that may catch between them to be pushed off easily bythecovers 2721s they are moved to closed position. In order that the manon; the tipple may be advised when a sample is-taken so that he canpromptly send down the mincrs check to the sample 'man or otherwisenotify him of its number, I provide a gong 70 of ordinary construction,adapted to be rung by the depression of a spring'retracted arm 71 whichis connected by a pull rope, chain or wire 72 that passes overpulleys-andacross above the levers 30, being made fast at its end to afixed member 78. A. vertical rope, chain or wire 74 connects 72 witheach lever and a pulley 7 3 is disposed between each pair of ropes orwires 74. "The pull rope 7 2 extends up and connects to the crank 75that will rock To facilitate the delivery of miners checks from thetipple platform to the sampling platform, I provide, as a preferredarrangement, a tube 7 9 which extends from theiuppertipple floor levelto a point in convenient reach of the sample. A guide rod or wire "80for the checks is passed down through the tube 79 and at itslower endrests-on an angle bracket 81 attached to and projecting below the loweropen end of the tube; The checks, in the order that the cars work downthrough the tube till they. rest on the platform on the bracket .81andthe sampler in practice removes them in :order from'thebottom of thestack and mounts them on thepins or hooks 78 on the levers 14 toidentify by the miners" checks the samplestaken in the, pockets. 1

ZIn operation, the. pocket covers normally standm closed position andthus do not in terfere with the normal use of the chute. When a sampleis to be taken, the sample man observes the car as it tilts and at thedesired time during the discharge of the mineral, he grasps and pullsdown the lever which will open the sample pocket at the desired: pointtransversely of the flowing mineral. The lumps ride over the screen barsand the pocket fills, after which the lever 30 is thrust back up therebyforcing its cover to closed position. The manipulation of the levernotifies the tipple man and he sends down the tube 79 to the sample manthe miners check 7 7 which is hung on a pin 78 on the weight 13, whereit serves as a notice that the pocket opposite it is full and identifiesthe sample therein. If the cars are dumped in trips, as many as fivesamples can be taken of different cars as rapidly as they can be dumped.

After the samples have been taken, they can be screened and picked atthe convenience of the sample man. This is done as follows: A lei'er letis raised to open a pocket discharge door 12 and drop the contents of apocket into the screen feeder chute 16, the check being at the same timedetached from the weight on the lever operated. The sample falls on thesolid bottom or feeder of the inclined screen and is spread by the door18 and fingers 19 into a thin mass and is fed by the reciprocating plateonto and passes over the screen bottom. The slack as separated by thescreen falls into the bin 45, the lump into bin 46,

and the picked slate is thrown by hand into bin 417. The sample boxes59, and 61 are arranged under the bins and at the completion of thescreening and picking operation, the discharge doors of the bins areopened and theircontents delivered into the boxes which are either thenweighed and the results entered on the tally sheet opposite the checknumber of the sample, or they can be set aside with the check to markthem and later weighed up.

It will be obvious that the size and number of the sample pockets may bevaried as desired and that the other details of construction which aredisclosed merely in their preferred embodiment may be changed to meetdifferent operating conditions without departing from the substance ofthis invention. It being noted as a special feature of my presentconstruction that the control of the sampling mechanism is such as tomake it possible to select a sample from any desired part of thecontents of the car, thus obviating the possibility of the car being lod by the miner in. such manner as not to make the sample representativeof the whole contents of the car.

What I claim as new and by Letters Patent, -is:

1. Mechanism for taking representative desire to secure samples of amoving stream of mineral, comprising'a multi-portedbed over which themineral stream flows, separate gates for the bed ports,jwhicharedisposed out of aline inent With e'achother in the directionof themovement of the material, a sarhplechute under the bed, and selectivemeans manually controllable andoperable to set the gates to collect thesample through any desired port.

2. In a sampling mechanism, a plurality of sample pockets, a pluralityof separate means operable at different pointstransversely of the streamof mineral to be sampled to direct part. thereof into a predeterminedpocket.

3. In a mineral sampling mechanism, a series of sample pockets arrangedtransversely of and disposed in the path of the moving body of mineralto be sampled, and

door means operable at different points transverselyofthe stream ofmaterial to be sampled to admit portions of the material toany desiredsample pocket or pockets.

4. In a sampllng mechanism, a series of separate sample pockets havingmovable doors disposed across the path of the moving material to besampled, and means to independently open and close said doors to take asample in any desired pocket.

5. In a sampling mechanism, a series of separate sample pockets havingmovable doors disposed transversely across the path of the movingmaterial to be sampled, and manually controllable means to independentlyopen and close said doors to take the sample in any desired pocket andat any desired time during the movement of the body of material to besampled.

6. A sampling mechanism comprising a chute having a plurality oftransversely arranged sample pockets, and door means to open at will anydesired pocket and admit thereinto a sample of the material moving inthe chute.

7. In a mineral sampling mechanism, in combination, a car tipple, achute to receive the contents dumped from a car, a plurality of pocketsarranged transversely under and opening overhead through the bottom ofthe chute, and independently controllable doors for admitting samples toand discharging them from pockets, substantially as described.

8. In a sampling mechanism, the combination with a tipple chute havingan opening in its bottom, of a multi-compartment sampling mechanismdisposed below said opening and comprising independently movable doorsfor the compartments, which doors, in closed position, form a closurefor the opening in the bottom of the chute.

9. The combination with a tipple chute having a bottom opening, of asampling structure having a flaring top subdivided into pockets andattached to the chute with the pockets in position under the bottomopening in the chute, movable covers for the pockets adapted, in closedposition, to bridge the opening in the chute, and means toindependent-1y control the discharge o'f samples from the pockets,substantially as described.

lOptlL sampling mechanism comprising a structure adapted to beinterposed in the path of the moving body of material. to be ricatedstructure bodily attachable beneath the chute and having separatepockets to receive the material Which falls through the opening of thechute, door means to direct said material to any desired pocket, meansno to identify each sample taken in a pocket,

and means to deliver the samples taken in the order desired to betreated, substantially as described.

12. In a sampling apparatus, a casing comprising in its upper portion asubdivided hopper and in its lower portion a chute, doors forcontrolling the discharge of material from the subdivisions of thehopper into the chute, doors for controlling the 1nd admission ofmaterial to the subdivisions of the hopper, bins to receive the treatedsample from the screen, and a metallic framework tying all said partstogether into a unitary structure, substantially as described. ing.

18. In a sampling mechanism, a tipple chute having an opening in itsbottom, sample pockets under said opening, a plurality of slide doorsbridging the opening in the chute and each controlling the admission of11a material to one of the pockets, and separate levers for opening andclosing said doors, substantially as described.

let. In a sampling mechanism having a plurality of sample pockets,covers for said pockets, a chute to pass the material to be sampled oversaid covers, screen bars for the pockets which project substantiallyabove the bottom level of the chute level, and positive means to openand close the doors in ran the direction of the length of the screenbars, substantially as described. r

15. Mechanism for taking representative samples of a stream of mineral,a hopper divided by vertical partitions in line with the movement of thematerial, ii-shaped slide guides at the top edge of said partitions,inverted channel bars mounted to slide in said guides and to normallycover the hopper, means to pass the mineral stream over said bars, andmeans to, operate the bars, substantially as described.

16. In a sampling mechanism, a sample pocket, means to admita samplethereinto,

a hinged discharge door for the pocket adapted to abut.against I astraight pocket Wall to close the pocket, and means to adjust the Widthof the door to change its point of engagement with said straight walland vary the capacity of the pocket, substantially as described.

signal on the tipple.

18. A sampling mechanism v comprising selective means to take a sampleat the desired point transversely of the falling material, and a signal.operated contemporaneously with and by thesampling mechanism whenadjusted to take a sample, said signal being adapted to notify the manon the tipple that a sample is being taken.

19. In combination, a tipple and its chute, a plurality of samplepockets interposed in the path of the material dumped over the tipple,an independently controllable cover for each pocket, and a common signalfor the man on the tipple, and means to operate said signal by theopening of any one of the pocket covers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ERSKINE RAMSAY. Witness:

NoMm VELSH.

Copies: of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

. Washington, D. G.

